LM Rankings Breakdown: NCAA Division I Men

Here’s a more in-depth look at the top five teams in NCAA
Division I men’s lacrosse and five questions we can take away
from these rankings.

(Small college fans can check out Jac Coyne's breakdown of the
NCAA Division III men's and women's top 20, as well as MCLA
Divisions I and II rankings.)

NO. 1 DUKE

2009 Record: 15-4, 2-1 ACCBreakdown: There’s some discord about who
should be No. 1. Duke over two-time defending national champion
Syracuse? You bet. Here’s why: closure. Speaking with Blue
Devils head coach John Danowski recently, he said that the extra
year of eligibility given to Duke’s 2006 players -- including
current players Crotty, Steve Schoeffel, Sam Payton, Dan
Theodoridis, Devon Sherwood and Tom Clute, who were freshmen when
their season was derailed by false rape allegations -- has been
difficult to manage. “The whole fifth-year thing has been a
blessing and a curse,” Danowski said. Whether it was
fourth-year guys mulling an extra year or fifth-year guys trying
not to step on the fourth-year guys’ toes, the Blue Devils
lacked a sense of urgency, he said. After this season, however, the
jig is up. Between the Crotty-led super seniors or the Max Quinzani
and Parker McKee-led natural seniors, there’s no next year
for any of them. The sense of urgency is palpable, and that bodes
well for a team so stocked with talent and depth.Biggest Question: Who will step into the starting
goalie role. Freshman Dan Wigrizer was surprisingly strong in the
fall. If called upon, can he carry Duke between the pipes?

NO. 2 SYRACUSE

2009 Record: 16-2Breakdown: On one hand, Syracuse graduated its
entire starting midfield. On the other, the Orange presumably get a
full season of stud attackman Cody Jamieson. Let’s see what
kind of magic the lefty can work with righty counterpart Stephen
Keogh. Some midfield help is on the way in Onondaga Community
College transfer Jeremy Thompson, provided he can avoid the kind of
eligibility troubles that plagued Jamieson last year. Head coach
John Desko is counting on Josh Amidon to become the Orange’s
top midfield threat. Amidon can shoot 100-plus mph and has great
wherewithal around the ball -- as witnessed several times in the
NCAA championship game -- but it remains to be seen if he can
initiate offense on his own. Goalie John Galloway and defensemen
John Lade and Matt Tierney anchor a defensive unit that nonetheless
lacks the lock-down presence that Sid Smith had.Biggest Question: With a boatload of prototypical
finishers on deck, who’s going to be the prototypical feeder?
Somebody has to get these guys the ball.

NO. 3 VIRGINIA

2009 Record: 15-3, 2-1 ACCBreakdown: Virginia boasts star power at each
position -- Steele Stanwick at attack, Shamel Bratton and Brian
Carroll at midfield, and Ken Clausen at defense. The Wahoos also
have some beef in long poles Bray Malphrus and Matt Lovejoy, both
of whom boast breakout potential. Head coach Dom Starsia emphasized
more physical play in the fall. It’s just a matter of finding
team chemistry, which UVA lacked last year.Biggest Question: Minus Danny Glading and Garrett
Billings, can Stanwick carry the load? Candidates to replace
Glading and Billings on UVA’s starting attack include Chris
Bocklet and John Haldy, but expect a big push from freshmen Connor
English and Matt Cockerton.

NO. 4 NORTH CAROLINA

2009 Record: 12-6, 0-3 ACCBreakdown: Billy Bitter, Billy Bitter and more
Billy Bitter. There’s no one sleeping on this player of the
year candidate any longer. Bitter has a great rapport with Gavin
Petracca on UNC’s dynamic attack. Joining them is Ed Prevost,
a junior college standout from OCC. Sean Delaney and Ryan Flanagan
are more than capable of carrying the midfield and defense,
respectively. The most interesting development over the offseason
in Chapel Hill was getting transfer goalie Steven Rastivo from Penn
State. Rastivo was expected to start for the Nittany Lions.
He’s never started a collegiate game and has a huge upside
over sophomore James Petracca -- who was inconsistent when forced
into action due to a Grant Zimmerman injury in 2009.Biggest Question: Is Rastivo really the answer
between the pipes?

NO. 5 JOHNS HOPKINS

2009 Record: 10-5Breakdown: Defense has been the hallmark of
Hopkins’ teams during the Dave Pietramala era, and yet it was
the Blue Jays’ biggest weakness in 2009 -- evidenced by an
embarrassing 19-8 loss to Virginia in the NCAA quarterfinals. So as
juiced as Hopkins fans want to get about a preseason All-American
laden attack of Steven Boyle, Chris Boland and Kyle Wharton, a
midfield led by Michael Kimmel and the potential of freshman John
Greeley, the bottom line is shoring up the back line.Biggest Question: Does senior goalie Michael
Gvozden have Pietramala’s full loyalty and confidence, or
could a controversy be brewing?

FIVE QUESTIONS

1. Is Cottle’s job in jeopardy?
Maryland has not been to the final four since 2006 and, according
to LM’s rankings (Terps at No. 8), at least, a return does
not appear imminent in 2010. Entering the final year of his
contract, Terps head coach Dave Cottle joins Towson’s Tony
Seaman -- also in his final year -- on college lacrosse’s
coaching hot seat.

2. Stony Brook at No. 18 – really?
Really. Both LM staff and the coaches consulted for these rankings
agree that the Seawolves have great sleeper potential. Behind Adam
Rand’s faceoff dominance, Kevin Crowley’s do-it-all
presence between the lines and Jordan McBride’s continued
emergence as an offensive star on attack, Stony Brook won nine of
its last 12 games before bowing to UMBC in the America East
championship game in ’09. All those players return.

3. Will Jamie Lincoln help or hurt Hofstra?
Call it the Canada-Long Island Expressway, what with Crowley and
McBride at Stony Brook and Denver transfer Jamie Lincoln joining
Jay Card at Hofstra. While it’s easy to get excited about
Lincoln playing alongside Card on the Pride attack, he was among
the clubhouse cancers that led to Jamie Munro’s dismissal and
Bill Tierney’s hire at Denver. Ironically, Lincoln is now
playing for Tierney’s nephew, Seth Tierney, at Hofstra.
Lincoln’s talent is unquestioned and can stir up
Hofstra’s offense, just as long as he doesn’t stir up
anything else in the locker room.

4. What about Cornell? No respect?
The Big Red certainly has the potential to make us eat our No. 6
ranking just a year after they took Syracuse to the limit in the
NCAA championship game, but it’s hard to ignore the burden of
replacing Max Seibald, John Glynn and, to a lesser extent, Rocco
Romero on that first midfield line. If opponents don’t
respect Cornell’s midfield, they’ll key in on Rob
Pannell, taking away his creative abilities with the ball. An
X-factor for the Big Red could be David Lau. The junior could be
poised for a breakout season after seeing increased role in
Cornell’s NCAA tournament. He can play attack or
midfield.

5. How quickly can Bill Tierney reverse Denver’s
fortunes?
Well, he inherits a pretty darned talented team, especially after
convincing defenseman Dillon Roy and midfielder Charley Dickenson
to return to the team after they left the Pioneers amidst the 2009
fallout. The most exciting players, however, are Mark Matthews and
Chase Carraro. Matthews, a big, left-handed attackman from Canada,
can also feed pretty well off double teams, which he’ll
almost assuredly draw. Carraro, a freshman from Louisville, Ky.,
has great speed and handle, and will likely face off for the
Pioneers.